In Time
by Just Another Wise Girl
Summary: Percy Jackson cared about one thing and one thing only; his music. Annabeth Chase just wanted to reinvent herself and steer clear from her tough past. What happens when Percy's father gives him a job to find an undiscovered artist? Hate. Love. Betrayal. All will unfold in time. AU. OOC. PJO & HOO characters. *Percabeth*
1. The Neighbor

**It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a new story! **

**Hey there and welcome to the first chapter of my new story 'In Time'! The first few chapters may start of short, but they will get progressively longer as I go along. Thanks for giving my story a chance and happy reading! :) ... Sorry for sounding so perky, but I'm just so damn excited! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Perseus Jackson. All rights to Rick Riordan.**

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**Chapter 1: The Neighbor**

**Percy**

"Well... This sucks."

"Come on Perce, it's not _that_ bad" my best friend, Nico di Angelo, reassures me.

"Yeah sure" I respond while rolling my eyes. "I still can't believe my dad cut me off."

"Dude, that was a pretty bad stunt you pulled. Plus, you need to get out of the limelight. You're sending way too much bad publicity to Atlantis Records."

I angrily drop the last box in the living room. "Whatever man. I don't care about my dad's stupid record label. I only care about one thing and that's music."

"Yeah Perce I know" Nico says while putting on his jacket. "I don't need to hear the whole 'music dream' again. I gotta go meet up with Jason, but I'll catch you later."

"Ok, thanks again for helping me move my stuff."

He waves it off. "Yeah , yeah. Just buy me McDonald's and we'll call it even."

Nico leaves as I slump onto the couch and look around my new house. In one word, it _stinks_. I miss my old place with newly bought furniture, a mini bar, and a state of the art recording system. I was living perfectly fine until my dad, Poseidon, decided to stop paying for my expenses. Yeah ok, I get that throwing a crazy ass party in his apartment as revenge was a little out of line, but he didn't even get fined _that_ much! Now, I'm stuck in a house that looks like it was previously owned by a cat obsessed grandmother. Definitely not my style.

You want to know the worst part? I have to work for him. Yeah, that's right. I have to work for the stupid bastard who won't even spare three minutes of his time to listen to one of my songs. The irony of it all is that my job is to search for undiscovered talent in the amazing city that is New York. That shouldn't be too hard right? Wrong.

To make sure I don't screw up, Poseidon developed a series of tests that said musician has to pass. They have to attain gigs and attract larger crowds from each gig. Once Poseidon thinks they're ready, they will open for someone in a concert and if they perform well, he'll sign them. It's a long process and I would become the manager of the musician through it all. So long story short, the guy or girl will get to live their dreams while I just stand by and watch.

All I've ever wanted to do was play music ever since... Well, the details aren't important. What matters is that music is my life. I love it. I've dedicated everything to it and have come up empty. What's even more frustrating is that my dad owns a fucking record label and he refuses to at least listen to _one_ of my songs!

I sigh as I head upstairs and start unpacking my belongings in my new room. There isn't much since I basically sold almost everything that I owned to buy this stupid house. Except for my recording system, that thing is my baby. I was about to hang up some of my pants when I suddenly heard yelling coming from outside my window.

I look out to see a blonde girl yelling at the top of her lungs. She's screaming at a tall guy with sandy blonde hair and man, does the guy look scared. I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but this scene looks incredibly amusing, so I open the window.

"I can't believe you fucking cheated on me!" she screams. Damn... Bad move dude. I take a closer look at the girl and gods, it was a _really_ bad move. From what I can see, that girl is freaking smokin'. If he doesn't want her, I'll take her any day.

"I'm sorry!" he pleads "It was an accident I swear!" Oh man, wrong answer bro.

"An _accident_?!" she shrieks "So you both just tripped and all of your clothes just fell off from the impact? Oh it totally makes sense now! Why didn't I think of that before?"

The girl storms to her house, but not before the guy grabs her hand and kisses her. Is this guy asking for a death wish? The girl pushes him away and punches him right in the face. The guys falls to the floor as she yells "Fuck off Luke! We're done! Now get the hell off my property!"

Well, at least I know who my new neighbor is. A hot single blonde who can throw a mean right hook. If I ever run out of flour, remind me to _not_ ask her.

Two hours later, once I had finally settled into my house, I decided to get the creative juices flowing and start writing a new song. I started thinking about the blonde chick and her legendary break-up with Luke the cheater. Maybe I'll write a song about them called 'Accidental Sex'. I chuckled to myself at the idea of it becoming a chart topping hit. Gods I need a life.

Just then, loud angry music started blaring through the walls. I didn't recognize the band since all I heard was muffled singing. I tried to ignore it and concentrate on the new song that I had to write for my gig in a few weeks, but it was just too damn loud! I knew this girl must have been sad and angry about her break-up, but her obnoxiously overbearing music was pissing me off.

I stormed out of my house and rang her doorbell, ready to give her a piece of my mind. The music abruptly stopped and the door opened. The girl stood in front of me with her eyes red and an annoyed look on her face. I had opened my mouth to say something, but my voice got caught in my throat.

She was undeniably _gorgeous_. Her long curly hair shone in the light and her skin was so tan she looked like a classic Californian girl. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips were full, not that I was staring at her mouth or anything. But her eyes, although they were rimmed with red from crying most likely, were her best feature. They were a beautiful stormy grey that held so much intensity it made my knees slightly buckle.

"What?"

Oh _shit_ she was talking to me! I shook myself out my daze and desperately tried to remember what I came here for. Was it about flour?

"Look buddy, I've got better things to do than have you stand there and stare at me like an idiot. So what is it you want?"

"Well someone had their serving of bitch flakes this morning."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Excuse me? What did you say?"

_Mayday! Mayday! Do you_ want _to get punched in the face?_

"I mean, what I meant to say was: Hi, I'm Percy Jackson. You're new neighbor who would very much like it if you would lower your angry screamo music down."

Her eyes suddenly widened and her skin turned almost pale. Her mouth slightly dropped open and I held back a snarky remark about her attracting flies since she looked at me like I had just came back from the dead. This girl was weird.

"Uh hello?" I said while waving my hand in her face "This is the part where you say your name and agree to turn the music down."

She looked away from me, but I could tell that she was blushing. "Sorry, I'll turn down the music." She then closed the door in my face.

Although she was extremely attractive, that girl was strange beyond belief. I don't know why she was so freaked out from my introduction, but there was something that bothered me even more. That girl was sort of familiar. She kind of reminded me of-

No. It couldn't be her. After all they're so different. She's cute with glasses, braces, and a stutter, while my neighbor is jaw droppingly gorgeous with a 'don't mess with me' attitude. Plus she's probably living somewhere in Florida right now doing some fancy job.

But their eyes. They looked so much alike. Almost identical... No. There's no way.

My neighbor is most certainly not Annabeth Chase.

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**Author's Note:**

**So, tell me what you think so far through reviews. I have many ideas for this story, and I will update as soon as I can (which will most likely be when I'm back from vacation). **

**Until next time fellow demigods! **


	2. The First Cut is the Deepest

**Thank you for the positive comments on the first chapter, it means a lot! And without further ado, chapter two! (That rhymed)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. All rights to Rick!**

**Songs: _The First Cut is the Deepest _by Sheryl Crow**

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**Chapter 2: The First Cut is the Deepest**

**Annabeth**

_No! No! No! No! No! No! No!_

This couldn't be happening! I refused to believe it. Everything that I ran away from. Everything that I left behind. Out of all the things that had to come back to haunt me it had to be him.

_Him._

I stormed into my room and opened my closet. It was all the way in the back. Behind all of my shirts, shoes, pants, and my beautiful caramel acoustic guitar. It's remained there for years. In the dark with the rest of my awful past. I turned the pages of my high school yearbook and winced.

_High School_. The bane of my existence. Scratch that. _He_ was the bane of my existence. High school was just the worst time of my life. Everything turned for the worst once I entered those stupid double doors.

I stared at his picture and sighed. Percy Jackson. He smiled his boyish smile and it bothered me that even in a picture, even after seven freaking years, he was still able to make my heart pound painfully.

I hate him. I hate him so fucking much it makes my blood boil. He tormented me and teased me just like every devil in that school. He abandoned me and left me like I was a rotten piece of cheese. The worst part of it all is that he made me love him.

Despite everything I fell for him and I fell _hard_. How could I not? He was perfect. His wavy raven black hair that just begs to be touched. His sea green eyes that makes you feel like your drowning in a pool of salt water. His strong physique that makes you wonder how it would feel to have his arms wrapped around your waist. His lips that sends you off in a dream world where he just scoops you up and kisses you until you can't breathe and-

_Holy shit Annabeth, get a freaking grip!_

I hit my head against the book repeatedly. This is fucking ridiculous. I'm still swooning over him after everything that he did to me. And it doesn't help that he's my next door neighbor and he looks impossibly hotter than he did in high school. It took me forever to look even remotely okay and he just wakes up looking like a god.

I look at my picture in the yearbook and grimace. Large circular glasses surround my eyes and bright silver braces cover my teeth as I smile. Blemishes stain my face and my hair looks like an octopus' tentacles are trying to escape the frizzy braid. So as you can probably imagine, I looked worse than Cinderella's stepsisters.

After the incident that occurred on my graduation, I left Florida for good. Promising myself to never go back to that wretched state, I moved to New York. I received a scholarship to Columbia University and am now working at a small architecture firm. It doesn't pay much, but I'm slowly working my way up.

During my first year at Columbia, I met a girl named Silena Beauregard. She had to be one of the most gorgeous girls I have ever seen. Having received my fair share of harassment from pretty girls, I steered clear from her. Surprisingly though, she befriended me and she turned out to be really nice. Although she's obsessed with everything that has to do with beauty and love, she's also a really caring person. She was actually the one who helped me change my appearance.

She taught me how to take care of my hair and skin. She helped me choose a style of clothing that was right for me. She even showed me how to apply some basic make-up products (which I grudgingly agreed to) _and_ bought me contacts. She helped me leave the old nerdy and insecure Annabeth Chase behind and until this day, I still haven't found a way to repay her for my gratitude.

Silena was my first friend in five years and she soon introduced me to two other girls named Piper McLean and Thalia Grace. The four of us became inseparable ever since. They made me feel wanted which is something that I haven't felt in a long time. They're my best friends and without them I don't know where I'd be.

They know of my past and they know the pain that I went through during that time. Pain caused by classmates. Pain caused by my family. Pain caused by my former best friend Percy Jackson.

Yeah that's right. Percy and I were friends. Well, of course until the day he ripped my heart out and smashed it with a hammer. But before that we were closer than peanut butter and jelly. Ok, bad analogy, but you get what I mean. He was my Seaweed Brain, and I was his Wise Girl. But it all went south once we hit ninth grade.

I don't want to get into the depressing sob story at the moment, so I'll spare you the details. Long story short, he betrayed me and crushed my spirit in the process. I lost my best friend that day and it hurt that I would never have him back. The pathetic part of it all is that I loved him through everything. Through the humiliation, the lies, the backstabbing, I still loved that water obsessed boy. I guess I just hoped that one day he would get cured from his douche disease and come back to me. Sadly, that was just wishful thinking.

Seeing him today brought out the old feelings I so desperately wanted to detonate. I had a feeling it was him from the enchanting green eyes, but I just kept praying to any god that would hear me for it to not be him. For it to be _anyone_ but him. Of course, they didn't listen. Now I have to live beside him for who knows how long! I think the worst part of this whole situation was the fact that he didn't even recognize me. You would think that he would after knowing me for so long, but I guess Silena did a better job than I had imagined.

I was putting the yearbook back in its place when I found one of Luke's old sweaters.

Ugh. _Luke Castellan_.

That awful, lying, cheating jerk! I always knew he wasn't the greatest person, but I never would've thought he would sink that low. Apparently he decided to work at home one day so I passed by to surprise him with some Chinese. Little did I know that 'working on a sales pitch' was code for 'screwing my secretary'.

I grabbed the sweater, the yearbook, and my guitar and went outside to my backyard. I put the sweater and the yearbook in my fire pit and lit it up. It felt like I was setting fire to all of the bad memories and it felt good. It felt freeing, like I wasn't constricted by the past anymore. Why hadn't I done this sooner?

I then sat by the fire and watched the cursed items burn while strumming my guitar. I have been playing music for as long as I can remember. I learned to play piano when I was little and I taught myself how to play the guitar when I was sixteen. I also wrote songs, but I would never show it to anyone. It would feel like I was exhibiting my personal diary and I just couldn't do that. Plus, I never trusted anyone enough after Percy.

_Percy._

His name rings in my head like an annoying gong. It hurts just to think about him. The things he did and the things he _didn't_ do... I just hope that our paths won't cross so often while he's staying here.

I start humming to the song that I wrote years ago. The one that I wrote for him. It took me forever to finish it because of all of the freaking crying. I never cried. Even after everything that life threw at me, I never cried, except for him. And I hated him for being able to do that to me. I still do.

I sigh and close my eyes as I let the song engulf me to another time. A time that I swore I would have never gone back to until tonight.

_I would have given you all of my heart_

_But there's someone who's torn it apart_

_And he's taken just all that I have_

_But if you want I'll try to love again_

_Baby, I'll try to love again, but I know_

_The first cut is the deepest_

_Baby I know_

_The first cut is the deepest_

_But when it comes to bein' lucky, he's cursed_

_When it comes to lovin' me, he's worse_

_I still want you by my side_

_Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried_

_And I'm sure gonna give you a try_

_If you want I'll try to love again, (try)_

_Baby, I'll try to love again, but I know_

_Ohh,_

_The first cut is the deepest_

_Baby I know_

_The first cut is the deepest_

_But when it comes to bein' lucky, he's cursed_

_But when it comes to lovin' me, he's worse_

_I still want you by my side_

_Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried_

_But I'm sure gonna give you a try_

_Cuz if you want I'll try to love again_

_(Try to love again, try to love again)_

_Baby, I'll try to love again but I know, Ohh,_

_The first cut is the deepest_

_Baby I know_

_The first cut is the deepest_

_When it comes to bein' lucky, he's cursed_

_When it comes to lovin' me, he's worse_

_Ohh, the first cut is the deepest_

_Baby I know (baby I know)_

_The first cut is the deepest_

_Try to love again_

I felt a tear start to trail down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away. I wasn't going to cry over him. Not again. I'm done with wasting my tears over a guy who will never love me the way that I loved him. I'm officially done with Percy Jackson.

My eyes shoot open when I heard a silent "Wow" come from the fence beside me. I abruptly stand up as I stare in utter shock and horror that my infuriatingly attractive neighbor just heard every word of my song.

"What the hell?!" I shriek "Were you standing there the whole time?!"

His hair swayed in the light wind and his eyes are so vibrant at night that I swear I thought I saw one of them sparkle. Last time I checked, we weren't in some cheesy romantic comedy.

Then he smirked his troublemaker smirk and my knees nearly gave out. This whole getting over Percy Jackson thing, was going to be a _lot_ harder than I thought.

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**Author's Note: **

**Remember to comment/review! The next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading! :) **

**Until next time! **


	3. Flashback

**Sorry I couldn't update any sooner. School basically sucks the life out of me. Anyways, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Perseus whatever his middle name is Jackson! **

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**Chapter 3: Flashback**

**Percy**

I stood with my arms crossed on the fence. My neighbor was standing across from me with a guitar in her left hand and the angriest look on her face. I smirked at her and I swear I thought her face turned redder.

God she was attractive.

There should be a law against looking so undeniably hot when you're angry. It should literally be illegal. Her cheeks were as bright as a cherry, her eyes swirled a dark silver, her right hand on her hip that was cocked to the side, and her chest heaved with fury-

Oh shit. I think noticed I was checking out her chest. Ok, play it cool.

"Hey you perv, my eyes are up here!"

"I don't know what you're talking about" I lied smoothly "I was just looking at your guitar. What is it? A Yamaha? A Fender?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Jasmine."

I nodded my head. "Good taste. I think I have a few that are Jasmine."

She sighed dramatically. "Listen buddy, I have better things to do than to have you creepily watch me play and talk to me about guitar brands."

"Yeah, I bet your schedule must be filled with burning household items" I say sarcastically. "Are you some kind of pyromaniac?"

"No" she snarled. "I just didn't need those things anymore."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you burn it instead of throwing it in the trash?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" she exclaimed.

She then started stomping back to her house, but I called after her. "Wait!"

She stopped, but didn't look at me. I could practically see the anger rolling off of her in waves. "What?"

"Did you write that song?"

It took a minute for her to answer. "Why do you care?"

I rolled my eyes. This girl was really starting to get on my nerves. She was too stubborn for her own good. Kind of like- No. Stop thinking about her. You're only going to make yourself feel more depressed.

"Because it was really good. And your voice was amazing." I wasn't lying. This girl had talent. I was captivated from the first word that came from her mouth. She sounded like an angel. A really heartbroken angel from how sad the song was, but an angel nonetheless. I was definitely putting her on my _'Potential Superstars in the Making'_ list.

She sighed. "Yeah, I wrote it a while back." She then looked at me over her shoulder and my knees almost gave out. Her eyes softened to a heather grey that made her look so fragile and vulnerable. I've seen that same look before. I saw it every day after Will Solace's freshman party. But it couldn't be her. She looked so different. So-

"Did you really think it was good?"

Her voice snapped me back to reality. That's when I made the connection. The honey blonde hair. The princess curls. The snarky attitude. The rosy cheeks. The familiar singing voice. The eyes. Those beautiful grey eyes that have haunted my dreams for years. How did I not realize this before? God I'm such an idiot.

"I thought it was more than good" I replied, trying my best to keep my voice steady. "You're incredibly talented."

She looked away, but not before I caught her blush. "Thanks, but I'm not that good."

"I'd have to disagree. By the way, what's your name?" This is it. The answer to this question would determine if my assumption is correct. If she says the name of the person I've known for years, then I might just die on the spot.

She looks back again and smirks. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough. Think about it." She then entered her house without another word, but that was all the information I needed.

It was her.

My childhood best friend.

My first crush.

My first kiss.

The person that I cared about the most.

The person that I betrayed.

That I lied to.

That I hurt.

_Annabeth._

I was positive that it was Annabeth. I mean, that last comment was such an Annabeth thing to say. I just... I couldn't believe it though. I can't believe that I didn't recognize her. But she looked so... Different. A good different, but to tell you the truth I was completely caught off guard.

I always wondered what it would be like to see Annabeth again after high school was over. She was always pulling off the 'cute nerd' look. With her large round glasses that made her eyes look owl like. And her hair that always seemed to be in a messy braid. Despite what everyone said about her she was without a doubt one of the cutest girls I've ever laid eyes on. But in a blink of an eye she changed from that shy book reading girl to this guitar rocking goddess.

To say I was shocked was an understatement.

When I went to bed that night, I couldn't sleep. The guilt of what I had done to Annabeth over the years was eating away at me again. I thought that maybe if I drowned myself in my music and just moved as far away from her as possible that maybe I wouldn't feel so bad anymore. But obviously, fate is really freaking cruel.

The memory of the first time I ever hurt her crossed my mind more times than I would have liked. It felt like it was on constant replay. Reminding me of how much of a jerk I was to her and how I could never earn her trust back again.

~x~

_"Come on Perce! Play with us! It'll be fun!" _

_"Huh, what?" I was shaken out of my daydream by Will Solace. He looked towards my line of vision and shook his head._

_"Dude, I don't get what you see in her." _

_I tried to keep the blush that was threatening to spread across my face. "I don't know what your talking about."_

_He gave me a bland look. "Seriously Percy? Everyone knows you have a thing for Annabeth." _

_"I do not! We're just friends." _

_"See, I don't get that either" he said while dragging me to the circle of teens. "She's such a smartass and she looks like she just brushed her hair with a rake. No one in the class likes her so why do you hang out with her?" _

_I shrugged. "She's cool once you get to know her." Actually, Annabeth was more than cool. She was the best. She was better than vanilla ice cream cake, my mom's blue cookies, and cheesy crust pizza combined. In short, she was my best friend, and she was awesome. _

_And I might have had a slight crush on her. _

_Ever since we went to the movies a few weeks ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. We both reached for the popcorn at the same time and I accidentally grabbed her hand. Her hand was soft. And warm. If you think about it, we basically held hands... Even if it was only for like three seconds. I wanted to do it again. I felt like I would die if I didn't. My hand was twitching throughout the entire movie when out of the blue, she put her hand on mine. _

_"Will you stop? It looks like your hand is having a seizure." _

_My hand stopped twitching, but she didn't let go of it. In fact, we didn't let go for the rest of the day. _

_"Yeah sure she is" Will scoffed. "Look Perce, all I'm saying is that you really need to watch yourself. If the other guys in the class find out that you actually like her, they're going to beat you silly." _

_Panic started to swell in my chest. The last time a kid in our class got a beating, he came back with a broken arm and a black eye. "Joey wouldn't do that just because I hang out with Annabeth would he?" _

_"Yeah he would. You know he lives for torturing us. And imagine what he would do to Annabeth. She already gets enough shit from the girls as it is. He'd go after her too just to piss you off." _

_Joey was the school bully. He and his posse just loved to scare kids until they peed themselves. I made the mistake of hitting him in the face during a dodgeball game in gym class and he's been gunning for me ever since. I've been lucky enough that they were just pranks, but a beating from Joey is like being tackled by an NFL player. _

_"Anyways, the rest of us are playing seven minutes in heaven. You wanna join?" _

_I hesitated. I have never kissed a girl before and for some reason, the whole class has already had their first kiss. Except for Annabeth though, she was on the same boat as me. I wonder if I will ever get a chance to kiss her. Would she let me? Would I mess it up? How-_

_"Come on Perce" Will persisted. "You aren't afraid are you?" _

_I glared at him. I wasn't scared of anything. Except maybe Joey, but everyone's afraid of him. "Don't be an idiot. Of course I'm not afraid. Let's play." _

_The first few rounds passed smoothly. Soon it was my turn. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous, but I wasn't going to let everyone think that I was a chicken, so I spun the bottle. It landed on Greg._

_The group laughed while Greg and I looked at each other disgusted. _

_"Don't worry" Will said, trying to contain his laughter "When that happens, we just pick the person that's standing behind him." What? I never heard of that rule before._

_When I looked to see who was standing behind Greg, it was Annabeth. _

_I was going to kill Will. He totally did that on purpose._

_Before I could protest, I was being pushed into an extremely cramped closet. Poor Annabeth had no idea what was going on. She was too into playing on her phone to notice the group of people sneaking up on her. She was then pushed into the closet after me._

_"Hey!" she yelled while banging on the door. "Let us out!" _

_"Sorry!" Will yelled back. "No can do! Your seven minutes start now! Have fun you two!" _

_Even though I couldn't see a damn thing, I felt Annabeth turn to face me. "You just_ had_ to play the game. Didn't you Seaweed Brain?" _

_"They were going to tease me if I didn't!" I protested. She sighed and I could feel her hot breath on my face. How small was this closet? _

_After a long awkward pause I said "We don't have to do anything you know." _

_"I know. Can we do a thumb war or something? I need to distract myself before I go insane." You see, Annabeth and I both had ADHD, so being in a cramped place like this, even for a few minutes, was basically torture. _

_"Ok, give me your hand." _

_She put her hand in mine, but we didn't do a thumb war. I couldn't get over how her hand fit perfectly with mine. And when I thread our fingers together, I could feel my body heat skyrocketing. _

_I took a risk and put my other hand on her waist. "Percy?" she whispered "What are you doing?" _

_"Annabeth" I whispered back. "Would it be alright if- if I..."_

_"Yes."_

_"... Really?"_

_She laughed softly. "Yeah, it's ok." _

_"Oh. Ok, I'll just... Yeah." _

_"Just kiss me you idiot." Even though it was a demand, I could still hear the smile in her voice. _

_I leaned in and I swear my heart was going to explode like in those Fruit Gushers commercials. I wanted to kiss her so bad it wasn't even funny. I put my lips against hers and_ God, _my world turned upside down. _

_It was slow and her lips were so soft and holy crap I couldn't even think straight. Now I knew what all the hype was about. But my first kiss wouldn't have felt like this with any other girl. It was because it was Annabeth. My best friend. That's the reason why it was so great. That's the reason why I almost fainted when she put her arms around my neck. _

_It was perfect._

She_ was perfect. _

_Just then, the door swung open and a bright flash blinded my vision. As soon as my eyes adjusted, I found myself face to face with Joey Samuels. _

_"Well look at what we have here" Joey sneered. "Annabitch and Prissy, making out in the closet. How cute." _

_Remembering Will's warning, I stood in front of Annabeth. "We weren't making out." _

_Joey laughed "Oh really? Then what do you call this?" He then held a picture of Annabeth and I kissing in front of my face. _

_I shrugged. "She was the one who kissed me. It's not my fault I couldn't push her back in time." I heard Annabeth gasp behind me and I instantly felt like a jerk. God that was the wrong thing to say, but I couldn't think of anything else to get Joey to back off. _

_Joey raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, I never knew Annabitch was such a slut. Who knows what else she's done." _

_The crowd laughed and from the corner of my eye I could see Annabeth's eyes start to fill up with tears. That's how I knew how much this was hurting her. She never cries. Ever. _

_"Awww, is little Annabeth gonna cry? Why don't you just do us all a favor and leave. Clearly no one wants you here." _

_I turned to look at her and I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. She stared and me with wide broken eyes that silently asked me 'Why? Why don't you stand up for me? Why are you betraying me like this?' I tried my best to show her through my own that I'm honestly trying to protect her. If I admitted my feelings for Annabeth, Joey would come after me and then torture Annabeth every day just to make me suffer. If he thought I didn't like her, he'd embarrass her this once and then leave her alone. _

_Annabeth left the party. She ran out of the house without saying a word. I assured myself that she'd forgive me. I'd explain everything to her and we'd go back to the way things used to be. I'll even buy her a few packs of Reese cups to make her feel better. She'll understand. She has to._

_"Hey Jackson," Joey called "you should sit with us at lunch on Monday." Knowing better than to refuse Joey, I nodded._

_I left the party feeling as crappy as ever. I decided to go to Annabeth's house to explain everything to her and tell her how sorry I was for being such a douche. When I rang the doorbell, she answered the door with red puffy eyes. My god I'm the worst best friend in history. _

_"Annabeth I-"_

_"Don't" she held her hand up. "I don't want to hear what you have to say. I hate you Percy."_

_I took a step back. It felt like she just punched me in the face. Actually, a punch in the face would have hurt less than that. _

_"I don't ever want to speak to you again. So you can go hang out with your new best friend Joey and just leave me alone." _

_"But Wise Girl-"_

_"Don't you Wise Girl me!" she yelled. "I hate you Percy! What you did hurt! I don't care what your reasons were! You were an asshole! A jackass! The biggest son of a bitch on this planet!" _

_Annabeth had never cussed so much in her life._

_Tears started streaming down her face as she continued her rant. "We're through Percy! We are no longer friends! So don't ever come near me or my house again! I HATE YOU!" _

_She then slammed the door in my face. _

_And I stood there. Completely lost. _

_She was gone._

~x~

Little did I know that denying my feelings for Annabeth meant that I would be forced into Joey's crew. Another amazing perk was that one of the targets he loved to mess with was Annabeth. He, along with another group of girls who I mentally titled the Barbies, bullied Annabeth all through high school.

She stood up for herself though. She never let them get the best of her. But I knew she was hurting inside. I could see it in her eyes. How shattered they were. How broken.

I did my best to help her without making it obvious. Like that time during our high school graduation. God that day must have been horrible for her. After the incident, I never saw her again.

Until now.

And this time, I'm not going to fuck things up. I'll find a way to get her to forgive me. To get my best friend back. Because God only knows how much I freaking missed her. I still do.

There was a plan forming in my head that I knew was full proof. It had to be. There wasn't any room for mistakes. Not this time. Not if I want her back.

The first step is figuring out a way to spend time with her. And I know just how to do it.

By making her an offer that even _she_ can't refuse.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for reading and please remember to comment/review on what you think so far! **

**The next chapter will be posted as soon as I have some free time. Exams are next week, so I'll be studying like no tomorrow. We'll see after then.**

**Until next time! **


	4. You Suck at Love

**I was able to squeeze in another chapter before I had to start studying for exams! Yay! Ok, so here's chapter four! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson! All rights to Rick!**

**Songs: ****_You Suck at Love_**** by Simple Plan**

* * *

**Chapter 4: You Suck at Love**

**Annabeth**

I hastily scribbled down the lyrics to a new song in my notebook. For once, it wasn't about Percy the annoyingly good looking, backstabbing, son of a bitch Jackson. No, this time it was about Luke the two-timing, secretary screwing, dickhead Castellan.

As you can probably tell from my descriptions, I'm fucking pissed.

When someone tells another person 'We're done', doesn't that mean that the relationship is over? As in finished, concluded, terminated? Yeah well, I guess Luke never got the memo. I think he set the world record for how many phone calls a person can make in an hour. Not only that, he left a message after every single call. Can you say desperate?

I head some of the voicemails he left. They all centered around how sorry he was, how I'm the best thing that ever happened to him, and how he wants another chance. Pshh! Like I'd _ever _give that cheater a second chance. Once a cheater, always a cheater.

It's my own fault I suppose. Thalia introduced us at one of Silena's fashion shows a while back. She warned me about his reputation, but I didn't listen. My heart was still aching with Percy disease that I refused to date anyone for years. But Luke was different. He charmed his way to me and I let down my walls for him. Boy was that a mistake.

We stayed together for almost a year before everything went to shit. I was even close to telling him that I loved him. It was a good thing I never did, but it still hurt. I thought that I was finally going to get over Percy and move on to a guy who actually cares about me, but obviously that didn't happen.

So here I am. Hanging upside down on my bed while wallowing in self pity. I have _The Notebook_ playing in the background as I try to jot down some more lyrics in my awkward position. I look up from my paper to see Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams making out in the rain. I scoff. Yeah, because that _so_ happens in real life. Ever heard of hypothermia?

The song I'm writing isn't my usual style, but I like it. I can hear the upbeat rock sound in my head and I quickly write it down before I forget. As soon as I'm finished, my phone rings. I check the caller ID to see that it's Piper.

"Hey Pipes how's it going?"

"I'm doing good. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come out with the girls and I to the bar tonight."

I hesitate. "I don't know Pip-"

"Oh come on Annie-"

"Don't call me Annie" I snap "You know that's the name the asshole gave me."

"Which one? Asshole number one? Or asshole number two?"

"Number two. And what if he shows up there tonight? I don't think I'll be able to restrain myself from giving him a black eye."

"Don't worry. Thalia's assured me he hasn't been there for the past two weeks. So I doubt he's just going to show up tonight. He knows that's where we hang out."

I sigh. "Okay fine, I'll come. Oh by the way, I wrote a new song and I want you guys to hear it." Even though my songs were basically my diary and I never put them on display, I liked showing it to them. Sometimes, they even gave me suggestions on how to make it better.

"Cool! Bring it to the bar. It's open mic night."

Although I know she can't see me, I roll me eyes. "Piper, you know I don't sing in front of crowds."

"Still worth a shot" she huffs. "I'll see you there at ten."

~oOo~

I made it to _Bacchus Brewery _a few minutes before ten. Since people usually dressed up a little bit more for mic night, I decided on wearing some dark black skinny jeans and an off the shoulder navy blue shirt. I put on minimal make-up (because that's just how I roll) and left my hair in curls. I immediately spotted Piper and Silena near the stage and walked over to them while attempting to avoid the already drunk bodies.

"Annabeth!" Silena exclaimed "You made it!"

"Well I couldn't be a sloth forever. It feels good to get out. Where's Thalia?"

Piper nudged her head towards the stage and smirked. "She's flirting with the drummer of the band. They've been making sex eyes at each other for the past hour straight."

I laughed. "What the hell Piper? Sex eyes?"

"Yeah you know. When a guy looks at you like this." She then slightly narrowed her eyes and parted her lips attempting to look seductive. Let's just say she epically failed and Silena and I couldn't stop laughing.

"So I heard from Piper that you wrote a new song" Silena said while taking a sip from her Margarita.

"Yeah, it's basically venting my feelings about Luke. It's upbeat and kind of in your face, not like my usual style, but I like it." I gave them a sample of how it would sound like and how the music would go and they nod their heads in approval.

"Not bad for a nerd." I turn my head to find Thalia grinning at me.

"Hey Thals!" I greeted while giving her a bone crushing hug. "How'd it go with drummer boy?"

"Oh you know," she says casually "the usual. He asked me to marry him and have his children. No big deal."

We all give her a bland look.

"Okay! Okay! He asked me out and I accepted. He's taking me to dinner next Friday."

"That's so great!" Silena squealed. I told you she was really into the whole relationship stuff. "What's his name?"

Thalia's cheeks turned a light pink. "Nico di Angelo."

"So the great Thalia Grace has finally caught herself a man" Piper teased.

Thalia sent Piper her signature glare. "You say that like I've never gone out with a guy before."

As they start their bickering, I notice a tall blonde guy from the band sneaking glances in Piper's direction. "Hey Pipes, I think blondie over there is giving you the sex eyes."

She does a slight look over her shoulder and looks back at us with a deep blush. "Oh my god he's so hot!" she whispers so that he doesn't hear her. "Are you sure he's looking at me?"

"Positive. I think he's talking to Thalia's husband about you."

"He's not my husband!" Thalia protested "It's just one date!"

"Speaking of sex eyes" Silena chimed in "Check out the hottie near the window Annabeth." I turn and my eyes lock with asshole number one.

_Percy Jackson._

God, could I have at least _one_ day where I didn't have to see his gorgeous- I mean his umm... Oh who am I kidding?! His face looks like it's been sculpted by Aphrodite herself. Anyways, I've been trying to avoid him for the past two weeks, but he always seems to show up wherever I go. At the Starbucks down the street, at the bank, I even saw him at the gym! He always tried to approach me, but I've been lucky enough to dodge him until now.

I glare at him and he smirks. His eyes gleamed with amusement. Ugh, he's so infuriating!

"God, he can give me sex eyes _anytime_" Silena murmurs while fanning herself.

"Agreed" Thalia and Piper say in unison. I roll my eyes. I can't believe he's already hypnotized my friends.

He starts to make his way over to us. The other girls are fidgeting with excitement while I was hoping he'd do a faceplant in the middle of the room. No such luck.

He leans on the tall bar table we're sitting at and sends me a lopsided grin. "Hey there" he greets. His voice is smooth and cuts through me like a knife. "Didn't think I'd run into you here Annabeth."

I tensed at the sound of my name. I gritted my teeth as I looked anywhere _but_ him. "So you finally figured it out huh?"

"Yup" he said while popping the p. "I've been trying to tell you for the past two weeks, but you always seem to be in such a hurry to go someplace else." As much of a seaweed brain Percy is, he's not an idiot. He knows I've been avoiding him and now he's putting me on the spot... Jackass.

"I've been busy" is all I'm able to say. I then dared to look at him and his eyes danced with mischief.

"I'm sure you have."

"Wait" Thalia says while putting up one hand in a stop motion. "Let's just take one step back. You two know each other?"

I clear my throat. "Guys, meet my next door neighbor Percy Jackson. Percy, meet my friends Thalia Grace, Piper McLean, and Silena Beauregard."

The air at the table grew tense. The girls knew about my past with Percy and that he was my next door neighbor, but they never knew what he looked like. I noticed Thalia's fists clenching and unclenching, as if she wanted to punch something (like Percy's face). Piper's usual soft kaleidoscope eyes swirled with anger. And Silena's mouth was in a perfect O.

After a minute or two of extremely awkward silence, it was broken by a distant "Annabeth!"

I look towards the person who called out my name and groaned. "I can never catch a fucking break" I mumble.

"Hey beautiful" Luke greeted as he put his arm around my shoulders. "I've been calling you."

"Have you now?" I snapped while shoving his arm off. "I didn't notice from the fifty voicemails I got this morning."

Percy snorted and Luke's head shot up at him. He gave him a once over, as if sizing him up and asked "Who the hell are you?"

Percy raised an amused eyebrow at him and replied "I'm Annabeth's neighbor. Aren't you the guy that she dumped and then punched in the face?"

The girls snickered as Luke's face turned an angry shade of red. "She didn't dump me. We were just in a rough patch."

"Uh, no. I dumped you" I corrected.

"But Annie," Luke pleaded "we belong together. I know I made a mistake, but I'm really sorry and if you give me another chance I'll make it up to you. I promise. I care about you too much to just let you go." He then put his hand on my leg and if he didn't pull it back in the next three seconds he was seriously never going to have children.

"Funny you should mention that Luke" Thalia said in an innocent voice that was totally fake. "Because Annabeth just wrote a song about her feelings for you." I gave Thalia a shocked look that clearly stated 'I'm going to kill you later' while Luke just grinned at me.

"Did she now? Well I would love to hear it."

"You're just in luck then," Piper chimed in "because she's going to sing it tonight."

"I am?!"

My face must have looked very comical because Percy was silently laughing beside me. I shot him a look before staring at my so called friends in utter horror. I haven't sung in front of a large crowd in a while. Years actually. After the incident, I'm just not comfortable standing in front of so many people anymore. And that was just when I was delivering a speech... I can't even imagine what would happen while I was singing.

"Come on Annabeth," Silena persisted "it's a very good song and we think the whole bar should hear what you have to say."

That's when I caught on to their plan. They wanted to embarrass Luke and doing it this way, wasn't a bad idea. So I sucked up my insecurities and grinned at them. I have nothing to lose so what the hell?

Thalia gave my sheet music to the band as I prepared myself mentally. I could do this. I've done it many times before so I shouldn't be so nervous. But once Thalia came over and gave me the mic, I started sweating buckets. What if my voice cracks? What if I mess up my own lyrics? What if-

"Hey, are you okay?"

I didn't even care that Percy was talking to me at the moment. I was seriously starting to have a panic attack. "Yeah. I-I'm doing fine."

He put his hand on my shoulder. "You have to forget about that Annabeth."

I gave him a questioning glance. "How do you know what I'm thinking about?"

"Because you're wearing the same look you wore that day." Of course he would know. He was there during the humiliation.

He then held both of my shoulders so that I would look at him. "You've gotta let it go Annabeth. That moment's in the past. You're a different person now so show them and that idiot Luke what a badass you really are."

Am I dreaming? I'd have to be because there's no way in hell that Percy Jackson just comforted me. After all these years why is he being so nice to me? It kind of reminds me of the old Percy. The one before the backstabbing. The one who's eyes gleamed with determination and whose smile was so full of life. God I miss that Percy.

He then gave my arm a squeeze and left with a "Break a leg."

I have never been so confused in my life, but I had no time to dwell on Percy's kindness. It was time to kick some Luke butt. So I walked on stage with new found confidence and was surprised to see Silena, Thalia, and Piper with mics of their own.

"You didn't think we'd let you do this by yourself did you?" Silena asked.

"Yeah, we want to show Luke up to!" Thalia exclaimed.

"So," Piper finished "we're going to be your background singers."

I then gave them each a hug. "You guys are the best. Now let's rock this place."

The music started playing and it felt like a wave of energy was coursed through me. I suddenly couldn't remember anything. It was just me and the music. And god did it feel great.

(Annabeth = _italics_, Girls = underline)

_We started off incredible_  
_Connection undeniable_  
_I swear I thought you were the one forever  
(_forever_)_  
_But your love was like a loaded gun_  
_You shot me down like everyone_  
_Cause everyone's replaceable_  
_When you're just so incapable_  
_Of getting past skin deep_

I spotted Luke's face in the crowd. His smile soon started to fade into a frown, as if he just realized what my song was really about. I smirked widely while the audience was dancing to the music.

_Guess what, another game over_  
_I got burned but you're the real loser  
(_hey!_)_  
_I don't know why  
(_hey!_)  
__I've wasted my time with you_

_You're bad news, a history repeater  
You can't trust a serial cheater  
You're good at hooking up but you suck at love  
You suck at love_

Luke was furious. I could see it in his face, but I didn't care. I was having way too much fun. I should have never stopped performing. The rush is just too incredible!

_You played me like an amateur_  
_then stabbed me like a murderer_  
_I'm left for dead, another one of your victims_  
_It's not like you're unpredictable_  
_But your act is so believable_  
_I know it's nothing personal_  
_It's just business as usual_  
_You're good at what you do_

_Guess what, another game over_  
_I got burned but you're the real loser  
(_hey!_)  
__I don't know why  
(_hey!_)  
__I've wasted my time with you_

_You're bad news, a history repeater_  
_You can't trust a serial cheater_  
_You're good at hooking up but you suck at love_  
_You suck at love_

I notice Percy in the front row. He's grinning while nodding his head to the beat. For some reason a wave of excitement courses through my veins. It's as if his approval gives me extra energy.

_Now I kinda feel bad for you_  
_You're never gonna know_  
_What it's like to have someone to turn to_  
_Another day, another bed_  
_It's just a game inside your head_

_Guess what, another game over_  
_I got burned but you're the real loser  
(_hey!_)_  
_I don't know why  
(_hey!_)  
__I've wasted my time with you_

_You're bad news, a history repeater_  
_You can't trust a serial cheater_  
_You're good at hooking up but you suck at love_

_Guess what, another game over_  
_I got burned but you're the real loser  
(_hey!_)_  
_I don't know why  
(_hey!_)_  
_I've wasted my time with you_

_You're bad news, a history repeater_  
_You can't trust a serial cheater_  
_You're good at hooking up_  
_(_You're good at hooking up_)_  
_You've messed this whole thing up_  
_(_You've messed this whole thing up_)_  
_You were such an awesome- _Woah!  
_But you suck at love_  
_You suck at love_

Once I finish, the whole bar cheers. Everyone is clapping and screaming their heads off. Luke's already left, but the only person I'm focusing on is Percy. He's whistling and cheering with everyone else. My heart flutters.

My heart fucking _flutters_!

God as much as I loved the feeling of performing again, I needed to get off this stage. Like _now_. I couldn't look at Percy anymore and I could feel my face burning. So I say a quick thanks and rush off the stage.

As soon as I'm free from people congratulating me on my song, I order a shot of whiskey and gulp it down. Granted, drowning my feelings in alcohol is not one of the best strategies, but I just _really_ need a freaking drink. Especially after what Percy just made me feel. I have to stop those emotions from taking over. One little pep talk and a few claps isn't going to change what he did to me. It will take a lot more for me to forgive him... If I ever do.

"My God Annabeth! That was amazing!" Speak of the devil.

"Thanks" I reply, trying my best not to look at him. "It felt good being up there again."

Even though I can't see him, I know he's grinning. "I bet." He pauses before he continues. "Hey so, I have a proposition for you."

"What kind of proposition?"

"One that can further enhance your music career."

I laugh. "Music career? I'm an architect. I don't have any music career."

"Well what if I told you that could change?"

I turn to look at him. The sincere expression on his face tells me he's being serious. "What are you talking about Seaweed Brain?"

His eyes light up and my face goes red. Holy crap I didn't mean to say that! I haven't called him by his nickname since the party! It was just a slip up. Yup, that's exactly what it was. No big deal. He probably won't even think much of it.

"Well if you must know _Wise Girl_," he smirks, God I hate it when he does that, "my dad has put me on a mission to find an undiscovered musician and make him or her the next big thing. Of course they'd have to go through a few tests to see if they can really make it in show business, and I'd be their manager through it all."

_My God_. Is he saying what I think he's saying?

He leans in so that our faces our only inches apart and gives me his famous lopsided grin. "So Annabeth, how would you like a record deal?"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Yay! Awesome! Annabeth is offered the record deal! (Big shocker there)**

**So what did you think about it? Reviews people! It feeds my soul! **

**Another thing, if you have any song suggestions that you think might fit well in the story, leave a comment and I'll see if I can put it in. I already have the whole story figured out and I have a few songs already lined up. Their mostly for Annabeth since she is the superstar, but keep in mind that Percy sings too. And he might just sing something in the next chapter *wink wink* *nudge nudge***

**But omg I just love the song in this chapter so much! It's literally on repeat for me right now. If you don't like Simple Plan, what the hell are you doing with your life? Their style of music is my favourite I just adore it! **

**Wow sorry for the long note... Anyways, remember to review and follow and favourite and all that jazz! Have a great weekend and for those of you who are reading this instead of studying for your exams like I'm supposed to be doing... Well, good luck my friends. **

**I only have two exams this semester so I'm lucky... But one of them is French so I already feel like dying. **

**Ok well thanks for reading and I'll update as soon as I can! **

**Until next time fellow demigods! **


	5. The Rest of Us

**Exams are done! Finito! Demolished! I am just so glad that they're over. How did your exams go (if you had any)? Mine were fucking brutal, but I'm just excited that I get to update!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy the sexy demigod Jackson. Come on, we all think it. ;)**

**Songs: ****_The Rest of Us _****by Simple Plan**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Rest of Us**

**Percy**

She laughed.

She actually _laughed_. What the hell? I just offered her a chance at a record deal and she just laughs in my face! Did she think I was joking?

"I-I'm sorry!" she exclaims in-between breaths "A record deal? Have you lost your mind?"

I frowned. "No. I'm being completely serious Annabeth. I want to help you become a professional musician."

She stopped laughing, probably noticing that this wasn't some type of practical joke. She then crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at me. "And what makes you think that I want to be a musician?"

"Because you've been writing and playing music ever since you could stand. I know how much music means to you Annabeth, so don't go lying to me about how you don't want to become a musician. Because the way you rocked the stage a few minutes ago says otherwise."

"Okay, let's just say I do want the record deal. What makes you so qualified to be my manager?" she scowled.

I smirked and whispered in her ear "How about instead of me stating why I'd be such an awesome manager, I show you instead?"

I'd be lying if I said that Annabeth's intoxicating vanilla scent didn't have me in a daze right now. How can someone's hair smell that good?! That's another thing that should be illegal because having her this close to me is sending my hormones in a frenzy. So when I pull back and accidentally (purposely) turn my head and brush my lips against her soft cheek... God a part of me dies inside.

I felt her shiver, which made me grin widely. Who knew I had that affect on her? I then grabbed her hand and lead her back to the stage. She stopped in her tracks and gave me a questioning look.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to sing a song... Duh."

She rolled her eyes, but still looked confused which was a strange expression for her. "Since when do you sing?"

I was about to tell her, but immediately stopped myself from the full explanation. How embarrassing would that be to tell the girl who started my fascination with music that she was the one who inspired me? Especially since she clearly still has this deep hate for me. She'd probably punch me in the face... Or someplace worse. I inwardly winced at the thought.

"Since elementary school."

"What? How come you never told me?"

_I would have if I ever had the guts. You were always so amazing with it and I wanted to be at least close to your level before performing the song that I wrote for you. Since I was so desperately in love with you and I might still be... Now let's make out. _

I shrugged. "It just never came up." She looked genuinely hurt at the thought that I would keep that from her. I really didn't mean to, it's just that by the time I felt courageous enough to perform, the whole party fiasco had already occurred.

"Hey Perce" Jason greeted while tuning his bass. I met him a few years back through Nico. I hated him at first because he always seemed so serious, but he's actually a pretty cool guy. He's the only reason why the band is still alive. He's basically like the dad of the group, even though he hits us whenever we call him that. "You ready to start?"

"Wait" Annabeth said before I could respond "You two know each other?"

"Yeah of course. Why wouldn't I know my own band?"

"Wow, so you were actually serious about being able to sing?"

"He's also an incredible guitar player too" Jason interjected. "But we try not to tell him that often or else his ego will go straight to his head."

"Gee thanks man" I deadpan.

"Glad to be of service" he smiles.

"Come on ladies!" Leo exclaims from the stage. "You can flirt all you want after the show!" Leo is... How do I put this? Let's just say he's special. He's Jason's best friend which is how I got to know him. They're complete opposites, but they seem to balance each other out. You can always count on Leo to make you laugh or to annoy you to death, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who _doesn't_ like him. He's just too friendly.

"The only flirting going on around here is with Percy and Annabeth" Jason smirks. God, sometimes I really hate these guys.

I try to ignore the heat on my face as I tell Annabeth "I gotta go now, but be sure to pay attention to my awesomeness. I'm sure you'll think differently of me being your manager once you see me up there." I then send her a wink and I swear I see a tint of pink in her cheeks.

She rolls her eyes again. "Yeah we'll see."

I join the guys on stage and grab my blue electric. I'll be honest, I'm nervous as hell. Usually, I can let go of my nervousness as quickly as a snap of my fingers, but with Annabeth standing there staring at me... I can feel my hands start sweating like no tomorrow.

But then I think of when she called me Seaweed Brain. I felt like a little kid on Christmas. Just with that name, she gave me hope. Hope that I can gain her trust back. Hope that we can be friends again. Hope that maybe, if the Fates allow it... We'll be something more. With that thought it mind, I strum the first chords of the song and let the music envelop me completely.

(Percy = _italics_, Altogether = underline)

_I'm okay, I'm okay,_  
_Kinda being awkward socially_  
_With the fact, that the girls_  
_Don't lose their shit when they look at me_

_It's okay, it's okay,_  
_That I'm not that good at anything_  
_And I don't hit the notes perfectly_  
_When I try to sing_

_Oh-oh I know I am not alone_  
_So turn the music up and let go_

Here's to the rest of us  
_To all the ones that never  
_felt they were good enough  
_I wanna hear it for the  
_chased and confused  
The freaks and the losers  
_Let's point them up_  
_Here's to the rest of us_  
_The rest of us_

I let my gaze travel to Annabeth. She has her arms crossed and her hip cocked to the side. I knew she was analyzing my song, but I couldn't help but notice the small smile that started to appear on her face.

_I'm okay, I'm okay_  
_I don't need to be a billionaire_  
(So fricking bad!)  
_And my trust fund hopes are looking sad_

_I confess, I'm a mess_  
_I'm perfectly dysfunctional_  
_But I don't give a damn_  
_If you feel the same_  
_Let me hear you sing_

_Oh-oh I know I am not alone_  
_So turn the music up and let go_

Here's to the rest of us  
_To all the ones that never  
_felt they were good enough  
_I wanna hear it for the  
_chased and confused  
The freaks and the losers  
_Let's point them up_  
_Let's point them u-u-up_

The crowd was cheering while singing along. Annabeth was swaying to the music with a smile on her face. God she looked so cute. My heart started pounding painfully in my chest.

Here's to the rest of us  
_We do it better than  
_the rich and the fabulous  
_I wanna hear it for the  
_nothing to lose  
With something to prove  
_Let's point them up_  
_Here's to the rest of us_

_We don't need to apologize for anything_  
Oh-oh Oh-oh  
_We're who we are_  
_I just wanna hear you sing_

_Oh-oh I know I am not alone_

Here's to the rest of us  
_To all the ones that never  
_felt they were good enough  
_I wanna hear it for the  
_chased and confused  
The freaks and the losers  
_Let's point them up_  
_Let's point them u-u-up_

_Here's to the rest of us_  
_We do it better than the  
_rich and the fabulous  
_I wanna hear it for the  
_nothing to lose  
With something to prove  
_Let's point them up_  
_Here's to the rest of us_

_The lost, the geeks, the rejects, the losers_  
_The wrong, the freaks, the hopeless, the future_  
The lost, the geeks, the rejects, the losers  
The wrong, the freaks, the hopeless, the future  
_The rest of us_

Annabeth was clapping and cheering along with everyone else. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She's so beautiful when she smiles. I couldn't stop the stupid grin that spread from my face as I jumped off the stage.

"So?"

"Alright" she laughed. "I'll take the deal."

~oOo~

I called my dad at his office in Atlantis Records the next day. It took all the restraint I had not to call him up right after Annabeth had agreed. I was so ecstatic that she had taken the deal that I hugged her and picked her up from the ground... Which resulted in her punching me in the gut and threatening to do worse if I ever did that again.

After the third ring, my dad answered "Poseidon speaking."

"Hey dad, it's Percy."

"Oh hello son. I can't speak for long, I have a meeting coming up in a few minutes."

I frowned. Whenever I called him he always had to go someplace. I swear our phone conversations never lasted more that three minutes. "Well I just wanted to say that I found the musician that I want to give the deal to."

"Really? So soon?"

"Yeah, she's amazing. Her name's Annabeth Chase and she can play the piano and guitar expertly. As well as sing of course."

"Chase? Isn't that the girl you would always spend your time with when you were little?"

I paused. "Does that matter?"

"I suppose not" he sighed. "Just make sure you don't mix business with pleasure. Trust me when I say it will bring you nothing but trouble."

Gross... I _so_ did not need to hear that.

"Don't worry dad," I state while trying not to barf at the images he put in my head "I'll keep it professional." Even though I have to whack myself from staring at her lips... And her eyes... And admittedly sometimes her butt. God I'm a mess.

"That's good to hear then. I'll have Jane make arrangements with Apollo to see if she can perform at his club in, let's say two weeks. I'll also book some studio time for her on Wednesday so that she work on whatever she plans to perform."

"That sounds great, but who's Jane? I thought your secretary was Christine."

He chuckled lightly. "Like I said son, don't mix business with pleasure."

I think I might need a psychologist after this conversation. Or maybe a mind eraser so that this can be permanently gone from my memory. No wonder mom divorced him. He's freaking disgusting!

"Yeah, right. Anyways," I say, trying to change the subject "my band performed last night at _Bacchus Brewery._ We even got an encore and sold a few CD's. So I was wondering if you wanted to come to our next show-"

"Sorry son, but they're calling me in for the meeting now. Could you leave a message with Jane and I'll get back to you?"

I tried not to feel too bad about it since my dad would never even be considered in the top ten list of world's greatest fathers, but for some reason it still gets to me. How hard could it be to come to one show? Or even listen to a couple of songs? Or talk with your freaking son about something other than business or the women you've fucked?!

"Yeah, sure" I sighed. I knew it was a long shot, but I still asked "Did you at least get a chance to listen to my demo?"

"I'm getting around to it. Now I really have to go. Goodbye Perseus, and say hello to Sally for me."

"It's Percy" I grumbled, but he had already hung up. I don't know why he insisted on calling me Perseus. Maybe it's because he's the one that named me, but I honestly hated it. Mom was too in love with him to say anything against it. I mean, couldn't I have just had a normal name? Like Bob or something?

A few hours later, I invited the guys over to watch a movie. They each came with basically a suitcase full of snacks. I think I literally had every form of junk food sitting on my living room table. From popcorn, to M&M's, to sour keys. I was mostly worried about Leo though. The guy is already hyper enough as it is, but with _this much_ sugar in his system, he'll be worse than the Energizer bunny.

"So Jason," Leo said while taking another handful of gummy worms "did you get a chance to talk to the hot brunette you were staring at?"

"Shut up Leo" Jason growled, although his cheeks looked slightly pinker. "And no, she left before I could say anything."

I took a bite from my meatlovers pizza. "Are you guys talking about Piper?"

Jason's eyes lit up. "You know her?"

"I met her last night. She's one of Annabeth's friends."

"Do you think you could get her number for me?"

"Sorry man. I don't want to get punched by Annabeth again, which is what I'm sure will happen if I ask." I winced at the thought.

"Plus that's kinda stalkerish Jace" Nico said. "Just wait until you see her again and ask for it then."

"Easy for you to say" Jason scowled. "You got that girl's number in the first five minutes of knowing her."

"Well," Nico smiled, as if he had just won free Green Day concert tickets "not all of us can be as smooth as I am."

"Or as charming as I am" Leo interjected. "'Cause I got a date too."

We all gaped at him.

"You?" I asked.

"Got a date?" Jason continued.

"With a _girl_?" Nico finished.

Leo glared at us. "Yeah. Don't sound so surprised."

"Well?" I pressed "Who's the unlucky girl?"

Leo threw a handful of Skittles at my head. "Her name's Calypso" he sighed dreamily. "She's beautiful, and awesome, and smart, and beautiful, and nice, and she's the outdoorsy type, and- Did I mention she was beautiful?"

"More than once" Jason laughed.

"Well she is" Leo grinned. He then showed us a photo of him and a girl with caramel coloured hair and dark almond shaped eyes. As Leo said, she was beautiful, no doubt about that, but she was no Annabeth.

"Dude!" Nico exclaimed. "That's Calypso Evans! The supermodel!"

Leo's eyes widened as he examined the picture closely. "What?! No way! I think I'd know if I was going on a date with a supermodel."

"It's her. I saw her on the cover of _Aphrodite_ magazine just last week."

"Yeah" Jason confirmed "Nico's right. Congrats bro, you're dating a supermodel."

Leo started to hyperventilate. "I think I need some air... And some more gummy worms." He then took the box of gummies and went outside.

"So how are things with you and blondie?" Nico asked.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Things are good. I'm meeting her in the studio on Wednesday to work on her songs and then her first gig will be at Apollo's."

Jason's eyebrows furrowed. "That's a pretty big place for her first performance don't ya think? Shouldn't she start someplace smaller?"

"Poseidon always likes to start things off strong" I explain "Plus, I think this is one of her tests. To see if she's comfortable with large noisy crowds."

"That's great and all Perce, but I wasn't talking about her music career" Nico said while munching on some Cheetos. "I was talking about you two as, well you know."

I involuntarily blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"He means," Leo interjected while coming back into the room with an empty box of gummies "how are things in the bow chicka bow wow department?" He then started to do the pelvic thrust which really made me question how on earth he got a date with a supermodel.

Nico's face was almost as red as mine as he exclaimed "That's not what I meant! Since I have to spell it our for you idiots, I was asking how his relationship with Annabeth was going."

"I don't have a relationship with her! Why would you even think that?"

"Maybe," Jason piped in "it's because you keep staring at her when she's around, and you flirt with her nonstop, and the fact that you're blushing a storm right now doesn't really help." Damn my friends for being so observant.

"Well I'm not dating her" I confirm. "She hates my guts from what I've done to her so I'm just trying to be her friend first."

"Right, good plan" Leo smirked. "And then after that comes the bow chicka bow-"

Nico let out an exasperated sigh while rubbing his temple. "Leo, just shut the fuck up."

"Hey, I can do whatever the hell I want" Leo grinned. "Because I'm dating a supermodel bitches!"

~oOo~

Wednesday rolled around fairly quickly and to say that I wasn't nervous would be a total and complete lie.

As I walked into Atlantis Records, I could feel myself sweating through my leather jacket. Plus, it didn't help that it was a thousand degrees outside. Why I decided to wear a jacket in this weather, I don't know. I guess I was just too anxious to meet Annabeth that I wasn't really paying attention on how the weather would affect my fashion choices. And I'll admit, the leather jacket made me feel kinda badass.

I was walking pass my dad's secretary, Jane, before she stopped me. "Mr. Jackson, you have a visitor in studio twelve who would like to speak with you before you meet with Ms. Chase."

Jane looked like she was in her late twenties. She had her light brown hair pulled up in a business like bun and her face looked like she came back from a make-up lesson at clown college. I really hoped that my dad wouldn't mix business and pleasure with her because God that would be disgusting.

"Alright, thanks Jane."

"Not a problem Mr. Jackson." She then batted her eyelashes at me. It looked like her eyes were having a seizure.

I enter studio twelve and notice a girl sitting on the couch in the corner of the room with her legs crossed. Her hair is a fiery red that has been curled into ringlets and her dress is so tight you can see every perfect curve of her body. She has light make-up on and her face has traces of freckles surrounding her nose.

"Hello Percy. Long time no see."

I inwardly groan.

"Hi Rachel."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**So Rachel's in the story now... Is she going to fuck shit up? Is she going to be a nice friend? Is she going to come in-between Percabeth? Who knows? Oh wait, I do! Mwuahahaha! ... Gods I'm weird.**

**You see boys and girls, this is what happens when you become sleep deprived. I blame the educational system for ever thinking of the horrid idea that is exams. They should be banned from existence.**

**Ok, enough ranting... Reviews people! That is how I know if you like the story or not! Plus it feeds the soul! **

**And yes, I put in another Simple Plan song, but I just can't help it. I love their music! I have a few other songs from them coming up later in the story, but not yet. Next, Annabeth will be singing a song that has been previously mentioned on one of my other fanfics. Let's see if you can guess which one. :) **

**Anyways, I'm starting the next chapter of 'The Secret Heroes' tomorrow for those of you that read that. Hopefully I can finish tomorrow as well (if my family doesn't bug me too much). **

**I'll also update this story as soon as I can! Until then...**

**Peace out my peeps! **


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